Parkland Shooting Survivor Anthony Borges Shares His Scars and What His Life Is Like Today

We know his story well. Anthony Borges saved 20 lives on February 14 ,2018. Anthony was just 15 when he stood in the doorway of his classroom and took shot after shot, using his own body as a shield.

The shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida changed the way we talk about gun control, mainly because it was the survivors who took action seeking an end to mass shootings. Their campaign to for gun reform has been revolutionary in the debate about guns in this country and the increase in shootings. But there are those behind the scenes, the Parkland students who are fighting through recovery.

Borges was among 17 injured at Stoneman, and one of the lucky ones that didn’t die. He was also the last to leave the hospital due to his sustained injuries. He was shot five times, which is why some call him the “real iron man,” but whatever you do, do not call him a hero.

Do you want to know what saddens me the most about seeing my son like that? is that people in this country do not use common sense to point to the real culprits! those who did nothing to stop the shooter….. pic.twitter.com/FBMjnxpbOI

— Royer Borges (@royer44505089) October 29, 2018

In a cover story for New York magazine, Borges says: “I don’t talk about it with anybody — I get really upset. I can’t talk about it with my friends. I did what I had to do — that’s why I don’t like being called a hero. I want people to remember what happened as a miracle, from God.”

Borges also shared what it was like to be in the hospital for two months, saying that it was impossible to get bored because the pain was just too much.

“It was all over my body, not just where I’d been shot. Imagine that someone stabbed you with a knife and wouldn’t take it out, would just push it in,” he said. He goes on to say: “The physical therapy is helping a lot. A lot of the exercises are like the things you do before a soccer game. Still, I can’t feel my left foot. I’ve gotten skinnier, and when I stand up, I have trouble breathing. The goal is just to be able to move my entire body normally. I can’t run, and I want to run.”

He also says that he has yet to return to school and is not sure if he will ever go back.

“I’m doing homeschooling now. I’m not sure when I’ll go back to school. I don’t want to; I don’t feel safe.”

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